Venkataramana satisfied with TN’s batting show

Tamil Nadu head coach M Venkataramana lauded the team for picking up a crucial three points from the drawn Ranji Trophy Elite Group H fixture against Delhi that concluded on Sunday at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati.

Despite allowing Delhi to put a challenging first-innings total of 452 on the board, the Vijay Shankar-led Tamil Nadu (494) got past its rival with the help of terrific centuries from Shahrukh Khan and Baba Indrajith. “We managed to take the first-innings lead against a [big] team like Delhi, which I feel is a fantastic achievement. Outscoring the opponent’s first-innings tally of 450+ (452) gives a lot of satisfaction,” Venkataramana told DT Next.

Speaking of the Shahrukh-Indrajith show on Day Three – Saturday – that took the match away from Delhi, Venkataramana said: “The partnership was a treat to watch. The base was set by the openers (Kaushik Gandhi and L Suryapprakash). Indrajith rotated the strike well. Shahrukh then took over and hit the bowlers all over the park. It was a phenomenal effort.” After bagging seven wickets on the opening day, the Tamil Nadu bowlers failed to challenge Delhi on the second and fourth days. Venkataramana, however, stressed that the failure to get breakthroughs at regular intervals isn’t a cause for concern at the moment.

“On the first day, we restricted Delhi to 290-odd (291) runs. Maybe, things did not go well on the second day. Overall the bowlers did a good job [when it mattered],” Venkataramana threw his weight behind the bowling unit. “These things (not picking a wicket for a long period) happen in this (red-ball, four-day) format. When one guy from the opposition stands tall in the middle, we have to accept it. About 400 runs [per innings] was par on this track.”